Sweet Cup Gelato & Cloud 10 Creamery Debut in the Greater Heights

Jasmine Chida ofSweet Cup Gelato estimates that the second location of her currently Montrose-based scoop shop will open at 3444 Ella Boulevard in Garden Oaks on or around October 7. It's not the only upcoming debut for Sweet Cup. She and her team are currently putting the finishing touches on a new commissary kitchen on Richmond Avenue in Montrose that will supply not only the two stores, but also Whole Foods and Central Market, with Chida's creative gelato. "It's all still going to be made in Montrose," Chida says, adding that the neighborhood has been very good to her.

Hopefully the same can be said for Garden Oaks, despite a minor crimp. Minor flooding made it necessary to do some unexpected work before opening. "Some water got into the building and it just damaged a little sheet rock, and we had to redo the floors," Chida says. Progress has been slow as Chida's contractor was tied up helping customers in more dire need.

But the good news? The new Sweet Cup will serve 24 flavors, the same number as at the Montrose store. And Chida has created a new cone to hold them, flavored with cardamom.

Meanwhile, Cloud 10 Creamery expanded from its Rice Village outpost to 711 Heights Boulevard last week, the edible jewel in the crown of Heights Mercantile. Parking, both on-street and in the Heights Mercantile lot, are plentiful, a lucky thing, as excited locals have been filling both the patio and cloud-decorated indoor shop for the dessert spot's noon opening each day. There are 19 flavors available, which currently include chef Chris Leung's summer specials. We tried mellow avocado ice cream with sweet-and-tangy peach jam, and a swirled pink-and-green sorbet of watermelon and parsley.